Mikaele Ravalawa’s Castleford Tigers omission explained

Ryan Carr has revealed Castleford Tigers winger Mikaele Ravalawa is managing a leg injury, which was part of the reason behind his omission from the club’s win over Bradford Bulls.

Ravalawa was dropped for the win over the Bulls after coming under fire for his early-season performances, including a notable display in the loss to Warrington Wolves.

Krystian Mapapalangi’s return to the side saw Ravalawa dislodged from the side, and in his absence, the Tigers secured a 40-28 win.

Explaining the decision to leave the 28-year-old out, Carr said: “There were a couple of reasons. He’s carrying a leg complaint that we need to get to the bottom of. We’re doing a bit of investigation around that.

“You would have seen in his running pattern at the end of games. He starts alright but it wears down on him and also he was disappointed with the performance last week, so we felt it was the best combination at the time.

“I’ve still got full confidence in Rava to do a job. We’ve just got to get him fit and healthy and at his flying best, which he can be.”

On the performance, Carr expressed his satisfaction after seeing his side respond from last week’s dismal showing at Warrington.

“It was another night we had adversity early, conceding a try off a bomb then losing Semi Vaelmei to a head knock, that’s our fifth in three weeks.

“We had to reshuffle the whole right edge and I think they did a fantastic job, the boys. They didn’t let the setbacks get to us, which is something we spoke about a lot in that moment.

“I’m really proud, happy for the players, they’ve had a tough week, I’m just happy for them, seeing them smiling and being proud of the performance.”